Shawn Saunders is a retired American

soccer Association football, more commonly known as football or soccer, is a team sport played between two teams of 11 Football player, players who almost exclusively use their feet to propel a Ball (association football), ball around a rectangular f ...

defender who played professionally in the

USL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

. The brother of

Josh Saunders Josh Saunders (born March 2, 1981) is a former professional footballer who played as a goalkeeper in Major League Soccer. Born in the metropolitan United States, he represented Puerto Rico at international level. College career Saunders, the ...

, Shawn Saunders attended Woodbridge High School and Santa Margarita High School. He graduated from Santa Margarita in 1995 and attended

Fresno State University California State University, Fresno (Fresno State) is a public university in Fresno, California, United States. It is part of the California State University system. The university had a fall 2020 enrollment of 25,341 students. It offers 60 ba ...

. He played two seasons with Fresno State before turning professional in 1997 with the

Colorado Foxes The Colorado Foxes were a professional men's soccer club originally based in Commerce City, Colorado, that played in the American Professional Soccer League (APSL) and USL A-League. Founded in 1990, the club moved to San Diego, California in ...

of the

USISL A-League The USL First Division (USL-1) was a professional men's soccer league in the second tier of the United States league system. It was organized by the United Soccer League as its premier league for men from 1996 to 2010, above the USL Second Di ...

. In February 1998, Saunders signed with the

Orange County Zodiac Orange most often refers to: *Orange (fruit), the fruit of the tree species '' Citrus'' × ''sinensis'' ** Orange blossom, its fragrant flower ** Orange juice *Orange (colour), the color of an orange fruit, occurs between red and yellow in the vi ...

. He played for Orange County through the 2000 season. Saunders then moved to Germany to play. In 2002, he returned to the United States to complete his degree. He also rejoined Orange County, now known as the Orange County Blue Stars. In 2004, Saunders signed with the

Portland Timbers The Portland Timbers are an American professional Association football, soccer club based in Portland, Oregon. The Timbers compete in Major League Soccer (MLS) as a member of the Western Conference (MLS), Western Conference. The Timbers have p ...

where he joined his brother Josh. The Timbers released him in June 2005. Saunders returned to Orange County for the 2006 and 2007 seasons.2007 Orange County Blue Stars

References

{{DEFAULTSORT:Saunders, Shawn Living people 1976 births American men's soccer players American expatriate men's soccer players Colorado Foxes players Fresno State Bulldogs men's soccer players Orange County Blue Star players Portland Timbers (2001–2010) players A-League (1995–2004) players USL League Two players USL First Division players Men's association football defenders